Some scholars say that Shakespeare's notorious tragicomedy is too politically incorrect to stage in modern times. Is there really no room for such "polluted" texts?<br /><br />Ben Brantley: There are some critics, Harold Bloom among them, who think that The Merchant of Venice simply should never be performed because it's too impossible to present Shylock in a way that won't foster anti-Semitism. <br />I think what makes any great work of art great is a combination of elements not all of which are necessarily going to be savory, so if you cut Jim out of Huckleberry Finn--or certain unsavory references to him out of Huckleberry Finn--you're diluting the work. You're playing with its central structure, with the fabric that makes it what it is. <br />People have to read in context. Every era has its own mores. Being too literal and political correctness can be a straight jacket. I mean, do we not listen to Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, the soprano, because she was possibly a collaborator? Do we not watch Harlantian movies or Maurice Chevalier? <br />Where do you draw that line? It's endlessly debatable, but you can't shut out everything that is polluted in art or else you wouldn't have any art.
